Precious Moments
by Little Gem Magnolia
Summary: Love isn't just a feeling, it's a series of moments. It's being there for someone day in and day out.
1. Comfort Zone

**Disclaimer:** I do not own _The Swan Princess_ or any of the characters.

 **Summary:** It was definitely his business, he just wasn't sure why.

 **Author's Note:** This is set during Odette and Derek's adolescent years and I'm not entirely sure where it came from but here it is.

 **0000**

When the long sleeves of her purple gown slid toward her elbows to show darkening, very recent bruises during the customary prayer before dinner he'd tried to school his expression. From the startled, questioning eyes that met his gaze when she raised her head, he had apparently failed.

Against his own will fierce feelings of protectiveness welled in his veins, burning him up with white hot anger.

He knew who had marked her flawless skin with their harsh fingerprints and he knew why it had happened but for the life of him he couldn't understand why he cared with such a violent intensity.

Why should it bother him so that their parents thought nothing of using force just short of abuse to bend her to their will?

What business was it of his?

But he knew it _was_ his business even before his mind formed the question, and it definitely bothered him. It bothered him more than he ever wanted to admit because he cared for her more than he ever wanted to admit.

He no longer took her resistance to their forced courtship personally. He knew it wasn't necessarily him that she was opposed to, more the fact that she had no say in her future and the future of her kingdom.

She was a smart girl. She could see the many benefits uniting their kingdoms would bring generations to come but, on the other hand, she didn't appreciate that their entire lives had been staged out, planned before either of them had reached an age to even care, let alone participate in the planning.

He could see her resentment in the way she bowed her head when their parents mentioned possible laws and bills that would go over more smoothly after the merger was in place. It was in the rigid set of her spine when her father took him aside to discuss "the business of men" and the spooked animal look that dominated her features when his mother pulled her into a conversation on how to be the perfect wife. It was all over the uncharacteristic iciness in her tone when she reminded any and everyone concerned that how many children they had, and what their names may or may not be, was a concern that was theirs and involved no one else.

Whether they liked it or not, they only had each other to rely on in this mess that was destined to be their future. They had come to an understanding of sorts, he and Odette, so the hand that reached for hers in the small space that separated them at the table did not come as a surprise. She quietly allowed his much larger fingers to invade her dinner space and seal hers in a warm, comforting grip without so much as a look in his direction.

No words were needed and any shift in attention would invite unwanted comment from their parents.

Despite their many arguments and endless issues with being betrothed against their will, they truly did care for each other and these small, intimate gestures were nothing new to them. It had started a couple of years ago when he'd impulsively hugged her as she'd cried after a fight with her father and had been returned by way of a gentle hand on his arm to cool his temper during a rather long, instructional lecture from Rogers.

They'd slowly been sneaking into each other's comfort zones ever since, so by now it was a welcome habit. Expected even.

"It doesn't hurt," she whispered, leaning toward him a bit when she was sure their parents were otherwise occupied.

He squeezed her hand gently and shook his head, eyes still on the other occupants of the table. "That's not the point."

She opened her mouth to reply but her words died in her throat as his mother's eyes wandered to them. He released his grip on her fingers and inconspicuously slid is hand back to his plate as hers found her lap. Uberta eyed them suspiciously for a moment before returning her attention to the story King William was telling.

Derek waited a minute or two before allowing his hand to follow hers under the table. "You know," he began slowly, as though unsure of how to express his current train of thought.

She saved him from having to contemplate it too long by meeting his hand halfway in its quest for hers. "I know," she assured, as though somehow more aware of his own thought process than he was.

He didn't question how she knew, they had long ago learned to read each other. He simply nodded and held her hand as though his life depended on it.

 **0000**

 _Please review._


	2. Guilt Trip

**Disclaimer:** I do not own the Swan Princess or any of the characters.

 **Summary:** She never did "the lip thing" but she could still make him feel guilty as hell none the less.

 **0000**

She never did _the lip thing_ or gave him the disappointed eyes or lectured him or used any of the guilt trip devices and feminine wiles that he was so familiar with when dealing with his mother. That wasn't to say that she wasn't as equally adept at making him feel just as bad as his mother, she just went about it in a different way.

She was more subtle about it.

Even when they were younger she'd always had an eerie way of unsettling him whenever he'd gone against her in any way. At first it was because she would follow he and Bromley endlessly no matter how they'd treated her.

How could he not have felt badly about whatever it was he'd done when they had been her only company the entire summer? That she had been so starved for attention and companionship that she would've forgiven any transgressions on their part, things that she would have never easily let slide had she not truly been desperate for human interaction?

On days when they'd been particularly antagonistic, he had usually ended up ditching Bromley for a few hours after dinner so he could do something with her, something _she_ wanted to do. If that had involved playing dress up or allowing her to completely ravage him at cards or teaching her the basics of swordplay, then that was what he'd done.

Anything that would have brought the sparkle back to her eyes. A smile hadn't been necessary, just the sparkle.

Later, when they'd gotten a little older and she'd become a little more jaded about their situation as a whole, she'd stopped following them when the sniping and arguing had become too much and she'd simply disappeared. That had, of course, made him feel terrible as well because, once again, they'd been her only company the entire summer.

The guilt had lessened a bit, however, and transformed into something aiken to agitation when he'd found her flirting with castle guards.

 _He_ was supposed to have been her only company for the summer.

She wasn't _supposed_ to have gone searching for someone else to keep her entertained.

 _He_ was supposed to have been her entertainment.

Somehow the times when she'd sought out other companionship didn't make him feel nearly as bad as when he'd gone searching to find her sitting alone in the library, draped over a chair, beautiful eyes locked on the pages of a book. The fact that she'd rather have been alone than be around him had made his insides twist uncomfortably.

Now, after the spell and the great animal, their unbearably long separation at the hands of Rothbart and almost losing her forever, all she had to do was submit to him and his insides felt hollow.

There had been a time when she would have stood her ground and argued with him; she would have battled it out with him all night if she'd had to but no more. She was so weary of the fight, of disagreements and discord. She wanted peace and she would bow to him with patience and heavily concealed irritation to achieve it and he couldn't stand it.

Her passive, docile approach to everything nowadays cut him deeper than the most vicious of words or the sharpest of swords so he always caved and it never took him very long either. Twenty, thirty minutes; an hour at the most.

On this particular occasion it had only taken him ten minutes for the hollow feeling in his gut to spread, infecting his system with a crippling guilt that prompted him to find her and make amends immediately.

He found her standing on their balcony, solemnly staring out at the lake.

"I'm sorry," he blurted unceremoniously.

Startled, she spun around quickly to face him. "For what?"

He could tell from the genuine confusion on her face that she'd not only _not_ expected his apology but also that she truly didn't know why an apology was even needed in the first place.

He sighed, running a hand through his hair as he cautiously took a step toward her. "For being difficult."

She smiled and allowed him to close the distance between them, accepting the arms that embraced her and the face that found the crook of her neck with a comforting hand, tangling in his hair. "It's okay," she laughed lightly, nails gently scraping his scalp. "That's part of why I love you."

His arms tightened around her and he dropped a kiss to the side of her neck before lifting his head to meet her eyes. "And I love you just because."

 **0000**

 _Please review_.


End file.
